The complex of ferric-enterobactin with its transporter from Pseudomonas aeruginosa suggests a two-site model.

Bacteria use small molecules called siderophores to scavenge iron. Siderophore-Fe3+ complexes are recognised by outer-membrane transporters and imported into the periplasm in a process dependent on the inner-membrane protein TonB. The siderophore enterobactin is secreted by members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, but many other bacteria including Pseudomonas species can use it. Here, we show that the Pseudomonas transporter PfeA recognises enterobactin using extracellular loops distant from the pore. The relevance of this site is supported by in vivo and in vitro analyses. We suggest there is a second binding site deeper inside the structure and propose that correlated changes in hydrogen bonds link binding-induced structural re-arrangements to the structural adjustment of the periplasmic TonB-binding motif.

Bicarbonate and Alkyl Carbonate Radicals: Structural Integrity and Reactions with Lipid Components.

The elusive neutral bicarbonate radical and the carbonate radical anion form an acid/conjugate base pair. We now report experimental studies for a model of bicarbonate radical, namely, methyl carbonate (methoxycarbonyloxyl) radical, complemented by DFT computations at the CAM-B3LYP level applied to the bicarbonate radical itself. Methyl carbonate radicals were generated by UV irradiation of oxime carbonate precursors. Kinetic EPR was employed to measure rate constants and Arrhenius parameters for their dissociation to CO2 and methoxyl radicals. With oleate and cholesterol lipid components, methyl carbonate radicals preferentially added to their double bonds; with linoleate and linolenate substrates, abstraction of the bis-allylic H atoms competed with addition. This contrasts with the behavior of ROS such as hydroxyl radicals that selectively abstract allylic and/or bis-allylic H atoms. The thermodynamic and activation parameters for bicarbonate radical dissociation, obtained from DFT computations, predicted it would indeed have substantial lifetime in gas and nonpolar solvents. The acidity of bicarbonate radicals was also examined by DFT methods. A noteworthy linear relationship was discovered between the known pKa's of strong acids and the computed numbers of microsolvating water molecules needed to bring about their ionization. DFT computations with bicarbonate radicals, solvated with up to eight water molecules, predicted that only five water molecules were needed to bring about its complete ionization. On comparing with the correlation, this indicated a pKa of about -2 units. This marks the bicarbonate radical as the strongest known carboxylic acid.